With the implementation of the 2017 Wide Body EBA – it’s time to revise the spreadsheet I developed to track and check Overtime, Callout, etc for the 2011 EBA. Part and parcel has been seeking clarification from the AIC/CP on certain aspects of the EBA’s implementation. Most particularly clarification over the MCG, how RP changeovers are going to be implemented and how they impact the credit hours associated with Duty Periods and Flight Duty Sequences (MCG) that take place over the RP changeover to the next RP. I believe I have the answers now, the spreadsheet is in beta; welcome to the test program!

Note: Some the images here may look a little small – but if you click on them they expand to a decent size over the text.

Note : The Allowance Calculator requires Visual Basic. This means it does not run properly on MAC or IOS (iPad). You can use your Mac/iPad to enter the list of duties, but the Payslips tab requires a custom function I wrote to work. You can use the Excel in Citrix, or if you have a PC you can get Office Pro as a Virgin Employee quite cheaply – ask me how.

Version History

29-Jan-2018 : Added the ability to enter duties/periods and calcluate allowances to see what you’re getting on an overnight, and to crosscheck your payslip. There are some other minor changes to the OT/Callout sheets (both fleets) as well that do not affect the calculation result. I’ll add some instructions and a few videos for this at some point … Download HERE
26-Jan-2018 : Found some bugs in the new A330 sheet. Basically it wasn’t calculating Carry-Out Flight Pairings correctyly.
22-Jan-2018 : Updated 2 Operating sectors for the A330. Tidies up the conditional formatting in cells to more appropriately highlight cells that should have data (Green) and cells that really should have data (Yellow). Also Combined Position/Operating route into a single cell eg: “MEL-BNE” – note this means that the instructions below aren’t quite matching the spreadsheet for the moment.
20-Jan-2018 : Update for the A330. There’s now an A330 tab in the sheet. Please advise if it’s working ok!
09-Jan-2018 : Initial Issue.

Video Tutorials

The following video covers Entering Your Roster.

This next one covers entering Actual Hours for Positioning/Flights and entering Callouts and Changes …

This next one covers Carry Out Flight Pairings (including MCG) and Carry-In Flight Pairings.

Finally – the A330 Differences in the sheet.

Late addition – Entering Duty Periods and Checking Payslips for Domestic and International Allowances.

Overview

As usual, the sheet copes with Ranks, Salary Levels and Years in terms of the changes to the various values of Overtime, Callout, Ad Hoc Training Pay and more through the life of the EBA (noting that the last 3 year EBA lasted about 7 years). If you peek into the Data tab, you’ll see the A330 stuff in there as well. An RP calculating sheet in the same Excel file for the A330 is my next task. If you’ve used this before – you’re in for a mix of the familiar and the startlingly new …

Note: While the sheet does both the A330 and the B777 (on the 2017 Wide Body EBA) only the 777 is described here. At the moment the A330 sheet only handles one sector per day but I will fix that shortly. Other than that – the instructions are valid across both fleets (I hope).

Ranks : It does Captains, First Officers, and Second Officers. The 2017 EBA has levelled the playing field in terms of Checkers/Trainers and OT and Callout, so there’s no longer the need to differentiate.

Levels : Whether you’re Level 5 or Level 1 – you select and the sheet does the rest.

A330 Odd/Even SN : The A330 has a different number of min days off each RP, depending on whether you are an odd or even staff number. Seriously? Anyway I’ve added this to the A330 sheet so the min DDO’s calculates correctly.

Duty Select : You don’t have to know credit hours – just select the duty for each duty day and the sheet will use the relevant EBA Credit Hours.

Leave : Leave impacts the Overtime Threshold, as well as the minimum number of days off required in the month – the sheet copes with this.

Positioning : Positioning changes a bit, with the introduction of a 1 hour sector minimum, 50% basis for credit hours and 2 hour minimum for position only duty periods. As always the maximum of Scheduled vs Actual is the basis for calculation so you’ll need to track and enter both. I’ve also added the ability to Position (FRMS) after going fatigued so the credit hours won’t count.

Ad Hoc Training : When you’re not a Check/Training Captain, but conducting Ad Hoc Training as an Instructor (eg : NTS) – there’s a credit and payment. The sheet tracks this as well.

Data Filtering / Validation : As much as possible, cell entries are checked from lists for validity (Duties, Airports, Yes/No’s, etc). Any time this is done – there’s a list box you can click to drop and choose from.

MCG : The Minimum Credit Guarantee of 5 hours for each day of a sequence of Duty Periods that takes you away from Home Base and includes an operating crew Flight Duty Period (FDP). This was a little tricky to implement, and I’m not sold on my method – suggestions welcome!

Carry-Out : Individual Carry Out Duties are no longer necessary – any single duty period that has a credit value (ground or flight) that commences prior to midnight (Crew Local Base Time) on the last day of an RP – the credit hour value for that duty period is paid in that originating RP. Also…

Carry-Out DPs/FDPs (including MCG) : Any series of duties (must include an FDP) that carries into the following RP are credited as a whole into the could well result in an MCG based additional payment in the originating RP. Therefore in order to track and calculate this, you’ll need to enter all the Duty Periods past the end of the current RP at the bottom of the sheet in order to ensure the DP/FDP credit values are added and the any applicable MCG calculation is checked.

Comments : So you can stir the memory every 8 weeks without having to come back here, many of the cells include comments to remind you how to fill them in or the function they perform. These comments are indicated by the small red rectangle, and pointing your mouse at them causes them to popup.

Cell Color : Cells are color coded to assist in entry. Generally only cells coloured GREEN are where you should (can) enter data. Sometimes a cell will be coloured YELLOW to indicate that either no entry has been made (and one is required); or to highlight the use of that cell to you (such as to override a calculated value).In the example show, because Positioning has been selected, the Sector field is yellow indicating an entry required, and the Scheduled and ActualBlock Times fields are green, also awaiting entry. Note the EBA Credit field is white and is a calculated field you cannot enter data into. Meanwhile, the Over Ride field is also green in case you want to over ride the calculation. Similarly, on the Flight line, the From, To, Scheduled and ActualBlock fields are yellow, awaiting the details of your flight duty.

Error Checking : There is a comprehensive cross check built into the sheet to try and ensure you have completed it correctly. If an error is detected (such as a day you forgot to fill in) the “Error” box in the top LH Corner of the sheet. Further, there will be an error flag at the end of the row that contains the error. Finally, the cell in error (might) also be red/yellow to indicate a problem.

1. Primary Selections

Choose the Pay Level/Year applicable at the end of the RP. You’re paid after the RP completes, so if there’s a changeover of rates (01 July each year) then the rate applicable after the change will be the ones used,

Select the Roster Period.

A330 Only : You need to select whether you are an Odd or Even Staff Number (SN). This impacts the calculation of your Min Days Off for the RP.

Having made these basic suggestions, the Overtime Threshold, Effective Overtime Rate (paid after the RP completes) and the Callout Rate are displayed. Note that the OT/Callout rates are based on your Pay Level/Year selection, and the OT Threshold includes the vLearn credit in each RP. The Error flag is shown because the selections against the days of the RP are not yet complete.

2. Daily Duty Types

So the main sheet is where all the work happens, of course. You must select a duty type for every day in the RP – even days where you didn’t do anything, or days that don’t exist (such as the one between takeoff and landing on the way back from LA).

Select the cell, then click the little drop-down arrow to see the list. You can also just type in the entry you want (you must spell it correctly!). Note that having selected it once, the next time you can just start typing the entry, and Autofill will quickly work out what you are after. This seems to be the best way.

Strictly speaking, the days in the column on the LHS of the sheet are based on Crew Member Base Local Time. So when you assign a duty or flight down route in LAX – you should be selecting the Australian Date for this duty. In practice, this only comes into play for carry-out flights/duties at the end of the RP – and this area has been tidied up immensely since EBA 2011.

Shown here is the current list of duty types in use. These may change from time to time, but so far these have worked from the previous EBA.

Admin – No Credit : Used when doing an admin duty that does not credit you towards Overtime (0:00)

Away Day : Basically days away down route that are not days off. Also the day between departing LAX and arriving back into Australia.

Day Off : This is your DDO’s and ADO’a. Note that sometime Crew Control will convert a duty to a Blank day as the result of a change. This is basically a Day Off that won’t generate a callout if you subsequently work it.

Flight : Select for any Flight Duty Period (FDP).

Gnd/Trg Duty : Basically any type of Ground or Training Duty that’s not Admin – SEP, NTS, etc. This includes running such courses.

Open Day : This is the 12 hour notice, 3 hour credit standby day that came in with the 777 2011 EBA. Love these.

Positioning : Any form of positioning, where the positioning is the only duty undertaken that day. The sheet automatically handles the 50%, minimum 1 hour per sector; minimum 2 hours for position only duty days.

Position (FRMS) : Positioning in the event of going fatigued may not attract credit. Check the EBA whether this applies to your positioning after going fatigued and if so, select this duty to calculate your credit hours correctly without the credit for FRMS Positioning.

Sick : Sick days do not attract credit and do not reduce your credit target.

Sim Instructor / Sim Student : These two duties have different credit values.

Standby/Reserve : This is applicable to both Standby at home and Hotel Standby.

3. The Simple Duties – as well as Callout, Ad Hoc Training and Cancelled Accommodation.

So some of the duties (Flight, Positioning) are clearly more complex than others. Let’s get the simple ones done first.

Day Off ; Admin (both); Gnd/Trg Duty; Leave; OpenDay; Sick, Simulator, Standby/Reserve : Once selected, that’s it for that day … except if …

Callout : If a callout is applicable, you need to Enter or Select Yes in the callout column. Note there is no longer Day One, DayOne+ callout rate – it’s all one rate.

Ad Hoc Trg : If you’re performing a Gnd/Trg Duty as an Ad Hoc Instructor – enter Yes in this column to have the sheet calculate your Ad Hoc Instructors payment to the breakdown/total.

Canc Accom : If you have cancelled company accommodation for one or more duties, select Yes here to have the sheet include these in the breakdown/total.

4. Positioning

Positioning typically gains a 50% credit of the larger value of (Scheduled or Actual Block Time). Once again – prior to positioning the Flt Time value on your roster is the Scheduled Block Time; once you’re positioned your roster will show the Actual Block Time.

There’s a minimum 1 hour credit per sector (applied after the 50% factor).

If the only thing you are doing in the duty period is Positioning – then there’s a minimum 2 hour credit.

Remember that if you commence a Duty Period with Positioning (or anything else) that goes over midnight Crew Base Local Time of the last day of the RP and into the next RP – the credit (Scheduled/Actual/EBA) goes into the RP in which the Duty Period commenced.

There are some very specific instance where International Positioning in Economy comes with 100% of the (Scheduled/Actual) hours as Credit. In this case – the EBA Override cell is used to credit yourself with the full sector’s credit.

Clear as mud?

Here you can see a typical series of duties. Day One is positioning up to BNE for Simulator. Day Two is the Sim Session, and (yet to be entered) the positioning sector home. Note the Yellow cell showing a required entry (the sector) and the three green cells for Sched Block, Actual Block, and Over Ride. The EBA Credit is already filled in at 2 hours minimum since that’s all you are doing during the duty period.

Now the first line is basically complete. The sector (MEL-BNE) has been entered. The Sched Block (from roster publication) has been entered. The Actual Block (from the roster after “flown”) has also been entered. Since 50% of both these values is less than 2 hours – the EBA Credit remains at 2 hours. Note that any value you enter in the Over Ride cell will over-ride the EBA Credit cell. Any value you enter in this cell turns the cell Orange to indicate that an over-ride is in use.

But we have to get home from BNE after sim. This positioning is part of the Duty Period applicable to the Sim Student duty. To apply this, click on the Sector cell and enter the BNE-MEL sector (even though the cell is not green). Once you’ve done this, the Sched Block, Actual Block, EBA Credit and Over Ride cells will activate for further entry. You can see that in this case the 50% credit value is calculated (since there is no 2 hour minimum) and that Actual is great than Scheduled. If this was SYD-MEL, the EBA Credit value would show 1:00 since 50% of SYD-MEL is less than the one hour per sector EBA minimum.

Finally – in the event that we go fatigued after a duty and are not safe to drive home, any positioning sector that follows the rest may not incur a credit value. In this case, show the duty as Position (FRMS) and whatever you choose to enter in the Sector, Sched Block, Actual Block cells – the EBA Credit cell will show 00:00. Note however that the Over Ride cell still functions to override all calculation and uses the entered Over Ride value to credit your hours.

One case the Over Ride cell could be used is when positioning internationally on a sector length above 7 hours where the rest period after the positioning, prior to operating, is less than the minimum proscribed in the EBA. In this case – manually enter the maximum of (Scheduled / Actual) Block Time into the EBA Over Ride cell – there is no factoring here, any value you enter over-rides all other positioning considerations. In this case the EBA Over Ride cell shows in orange to indicate it’s over-riding all the other positioning calculations.

Note: Occasionally you have to do mental maths to work out the Scheduled or Actual Block time from your roster. If you have a Start and Stop time for this, you can do the maths in your head (remember the two times are Local Time so between MEL and BNE there could be a missing (or extra) hour you have to account for in your formula) – then you can use the following formula in Excel (say the Actual Block is between 14:37 and 16:58) in the cell where you need the result. After you’ve used the formula to get an answer – it’s easiest just to type the answer in over top of the formula.

=Time(16,58,0)-Time(14,37,0)

4. Flights

Flights also require more details in order to calculate the correct credit value. This includes tracking both Scheduled and Actual Block Times (Pushback to Park). Note that the Flt Time value that appears on your Sabre roster at publication (or before you fly the trip) is the Scheduled Block Time applicable for the trip. Shortly after you have flown the trip – this time becomes the Actual Block Time you flew – and the Scheduled value is no longer accessible. I therefore strongly recommend taking screenshots of your roster after publication so you can retain the scheduled values.

MCG : Minimum Credit Guarantee

More complicated is the implementation of the Minimum Credit Guarantee. Basically when you head off from Home Base on a series of duties that includes a Flight Duty Pairing where you are operating (not positioning) – you get a minimum credit of 5 hours per day until you complete the Duty Period that signs you off at Home Base. This includes any Duty Types (Simulator, Admin, Ground Training, Open, Standby, Day Off, etc) as long as one of them is a Flight (Operating).

At the end of the duty series – if the 5 hour per day credit exceeds the credit from the Duty Period/Types – you are paid the MCG. I’ve implemented this methodology using the MCG # column to the immediate right of the Duty Type column. Anytime you start a series of flight-related duties (1 or more) where the MCG is applicable (because of a Flight) – place a number in the MCG # cell for each date of the sequence of duty periods. Keep that number identical for subsequent duties until complete the series ends back at Home Base. Use a new number for the next series of duties that includes an FDP. It sounds more complicated than it is … Mostly.

Firstly select Flight from the Duty Type list box on the left against the departure date of your flight. Note that technically this is the departure date based on your Crew Base Local Time. Which for evening LAX departures means the day after that shown on your Sabre roster.

Now enter the MCG # value. While the specific number actually doesn’t matter (I’ve limited it to 1…9 for now) – I suggest using 1-1-1-1 for your first trip; then 2-2-2-2 for your second trip, etc. Note that when you select Flight the MCG # cell next to that selection will turn yellow to highlight you need an entry there. When you choose a non-flight for the next day (say, Away Day) the cell will not be yellow – but this cell still needs the MCG # since it’s part of a sequence of duties.

Next, scroll across and you’ll see the Flight Details area has some yellow areas for entry. Enter the From airport and the To airport, then enter the Scheduled Block time (shown on your Sabre roster as Flight Time at publish). This will give you an initial estimate of the credit hours that will come from this duty. For the moment I have not provided for multiple sectors on the 777 – I’ll do it with the 330 and then decide if the solution should be rolled back. Further to the right, you can see the EBA Credit has your scheduled block time value.

Once you’ve operated the flight, look back at your Sabre roster and enter the actual Flight Time into the Actual Block time in the spreadsheet. If Actual was longer than Scheduled – you’ll see the new, larger value in the EBA Credit cell.

Remember that if you’re called off one or more days off for a trip – enter Yes into the Call Out cell to the immediate right of your Duty Type selection.

Finally, once again remember that if you commence a Duty Period with Positioning (or anything else) that goes over midnight Crew Base Local Time of the last day of the RP and into the next RP – the credit (Scheduled/Actual/EBA) goes into the RP in which the Duty Period commenced.

After the entries are complete, scrolling further across to the right (see below) you can see the Duty Type Credit (Max of Sked/Actual Block); MCG Cumulative Credit (5 Hrs/Day), the Pairing Cumulative Credit (based on Max of Sked/Actual Block); and MCG Additional – in the case above the credit from the flying exceeds the credit from the MCG, so there’s no addition. Let’s hit all the highlights with the next one …

Final Example – Flight with Callout, Positioning, Standby and MCG

The following is an example where the MCG applies – in this case, the shorter BNE/LAX flight times (after Standby), along with an extra day in LAX brings the MCG into play. Since the MCG Accumulation (7 x 5:00) comes to 35:00 while the Sequence of FDP related duties comes to 33:00 – there’s a 2:00 in the MCG Addition column at the end of the MCG sequence, and this 2:00 extra has been added into the EBA (& MCG) column on the far right. The MCG is paid by the spreadsheet against the last day of the sequence – either as the only credit (if the last day has no credit, like an Away Day) or added to any credit on that day – like in this example where the 2:00 is added to the Positioning Credit of 1:10.

This sequence is positioning to MEL-BNE for Standby, then heading off on a 5 day trip to LAX (you never know …) then coming back to BNE and positioning BNE-MEL home after arrival. Note in this instance I was called out for this sequence as indicated by the Yes in the Callout column.

The MCG # (2) is selected for the entire set of the MCG related days. Because the Positioning and Standby days are associated with the Flight Duty Period sequence – they count towards MCG. The “2” probably means this is the second trip on my roster.

Positioning on 28/Jan was 2:00 because that’s the minimum. Although the MCG of 5 hours on the day exceeds this value – MCG applies across the total sequence of duties, so you can’t tell if MCG is going to pay until it’s all over (including Actual vs Schedule for both Positioning and Flights).

Standby on 29/Jan has a 5:00 hour credit.

The Flights on 30/Jan and 02/Feb are credited based on the highest of (Sked/Actual) Block Time.

During the sequence, the highest of the MCG Cumulative Credit or Pairing Cumulative Credit is highlighted (subtle yellow).

At the end of the sequence – the MCG accumulation comes to 35:00; the duty related credit 33:00 – so the MCG adds 2:00 hours to the EBA (& MCG) Credit for the series of Flight related duties.

Note that while the EBA may not be clear – the Payroll system is coded to look only for an FDP as part of a series of duties; then it looks for the first Duty Period that took you away from Home Base at or before the FDP; and the last Duty Period/DFP that brought you back to Home Base. MCG is applied across the entire series of duties – FDPs and non-FDPs alike.

In the example below, I choofed off to Sydney on 02/Jan to teach two days of Ground School. Then I headed off SYD-LAX and came back the next day. On the last day (after arriving into SYD) I positioned home to MEL. The MCG calculation is done across all these duties. In this instance MCG Cumulative Credit is less than Pairing Cumulative Credit.

I recently developed a spreadsheet to check the domestic allowances I was being paid. The process was educational, to say the least. This initial version only checks domestic allowances – I will develop further to facilitate the checking of rostered vs actual international allowances as well.

Update : Recently Payroll have been paying correctly the meal allowances; but still persist on under paying the incidental allowance. I’ve also discovered they are unable to backpay correctly based on what was agreed was in error (hence V1.4 to allow you to enter backpay and highlight further discrepancies).

Version 1.4 (02Apr16) : Added a column on the RHS of the calculator to allow backpaid allowances to be entered and checked.

Background

Having only recently come to the EBA, I’ve started seeing the additional payments that come into my salary associated with Overtime, Callout and Allowances. The first of these two I track and check using my EBA Overtime Calculator, which you can get from the linked post. Certainly the comparison of what I believe I should be paid as compared with what I have been paid has been an educational process, illuminating for me both the detail of the EBA and inner working of the rostering and payroll systems, occasionally requiring follow up redress. I encourage everyone to check their overtime/callout when it’s paid every 8 weeks.

Allowances however are a different story. The process of calculating how much should be paid across a series of meal windows and an associated incidental period is relatively simple and I used such a process extensively in my Crew Allowance Tax Calculator (the latest of which can be downloaded from the link).

As such I figured it would be easy to develop a sheet to check my domestic allowances. To make sure I was doing it right, I started with the EBA, which is where I struck my first problem. The paucity of detail in this document covering a moderately complicated issue such as crew allowances at domestic and international ports was manifestly inadequate for my purposes. I fired off a couple of emails with comprehensive questions to the responsible line management, so far without a reply. In the end I reverted to the Short Haul EBA for the basis of calculation, the premise of which is basically that from the time you sign on at home Base for the purpose of operating Duty(ies) which include an overnight away from home base, you’re continuously paid Meal/Incidental Allowances until you sign off again back at home Base. This happens irrespective of whether meals are provided associated with your duties or not – or so my fellow domestic pilots advise.

I would like to give credit here to Dean Young, who provided the original formulae for the Allowance Checker. He was looking at this issue at the time as I was, and developed the formulae to assess the presence of a duty period over a meal window.

Dean was using a spreadsheet to fact check paid allowances, I used it for a different purpose (Tax) but the formula requirement was the same. His solution was elegant and with his permission I used it in my own sheet. Dean was responsible for much behind the scenes work in the early days of V Australia (we didn’t call it Volunteer Australia for nothing …), for which many will never appreciate.

Thanks Dean.

In any case I thought I had a handle on it so I started a sheet based on my Tax Calculator. It took me an afternoon to get a sheet I was happy with, which looked substantially like the following:

As always with my spreadsheets, the green cells are where you enter your information, the other cells are where you shouldn’t change things unless you want the calculations to go wrong. The Clear button deletes your entries in the green cells.

Basically you enter the periods away from home in green. On the 15th March I reported at 15:55 for a flight to BNE, to undertake a few days of simulator training, before returning to Melbourne, signing off at 18:50 on the 17th March after the flight home. The calculation is relatively simple where Incidental is purely based on hours away from home at a fixed rate; Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner meal allowances paid when your time away from Base touches any of the allocated meal windows. Or so I thought.

However when it comes to checking the allowance you were paid – it’s a different story.

You see we are paid on a two week basis, covering a two week period, and we receive that pay about 4 working days after the close of that two week window. This payroll fortnight takes no account of your comings and goings and as such you can be paid for half of your time away in one pay check, and the rest of your time away in the next.

As such I was now confronted with the requirement to turn the fairly easy to enter blocks of time away from home base to a meal/date specific result that would be easy to check against the payslip. After much effort – I finally realised I couldn’t do it without code.

I therefore built a custom function in Visual Basic (Applications) for Excel, called:

Payslip (PaySlipDate As Date, Meal As String, Payrate As Currency) As Currency

This is certainly not my best piece of programming, it’s pretty quick and dirty, but it does the job. This formula requires three variables:

A Date – the date during the payslip period which is to be examined for possible allowances;

a Meal – the name of the meal band (“Breakfast”, “Lunch”, “Dinner”) which the calculation is to look for; and

a Rate – the rate of the particular meal allowance to be paid.

The value returned is either Zero (no allowance paid); in the case of Brekky, Lunch or Dinner the PayRate of the particular allowance if there is one on the date requested; or in the case of Incidentals – how much is to be paid in the way of an Incidental amount for that date.

This formula is incorporated into another sheet that looks like this:

The Payslip Date is Entered/Selected at the top.

The Start/End date of the related period fill in at the top, and down the LHS of the calculating area

Based on these dates, each Meal Period (and Incidental) for each date is reviewed in the context of duty periods away from base entered previously on the other sheet. If you were on station during a meal period on a particular date – this sheet detects that and fills in the amount. The incidental amount depends on how many hours you were away from Base (up to 24) and calculates it accordingly.

Once the sheet has calculated where you should have been paid something – the green cell next to the required payment value turns yellow.

The yellow cells are where you are required to enter something (one of the following):

Yes : You were paid the full amount. (enter the word “Yes”)

No : You were paid nothing against this meal/incidental allowance (enter the word “No”); or

$##.## : The amount you were paid (this is reserved for the Incidental figure as printed on your payslip).

The result?

As can be shown here, there is a missing meal, and the incidentals are rarely paid in full. From a review of the last 6 months of allowances calculated vs paid:

No incidentals are being paid on the first day of a duty (neither positioning up to BNE for simulator nor positioning up the day prior to simulator)

Incidentals are never paid in full for full days away from Base (my suspicion is that when I sign on to teach simulator in BNE, I stop being paid the incidental allowance).

The odd occasional meal drops out of the Company’s calculation. I originally postulated that when I signed on to teach Simulator, I was no longer being paid a meal allowance, hence the odd meal on most days there would be a meal allowance missing. However this turns out not to be the case – I can’t see any rhyme or reason as to why I’m missing a meal every now and then. Perhaps they’re not paying me when I skip meals?

Over the past 6 months the difference I’ve calculated comes to over $600. I have yet to claims these and will be doing so early next week. Many years ago I detected an error in the way I was being paid an allowance at Emirates, my previous employer. This error affected a small number of pilots several times a week (depending on them operating a particular flight pairing); but went back a couple of years. The solution was for the company to change the wording of our “contracts” so that the manner in which the allowance had previously been paid was correct. I don’t think that’s going to happen here .. but it will no doubt be interesting, especially given the vague wording of our agreement.